Francis Walsingham (c.1532–1590) was principal secretary to Queen
Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death, and is
popularly remembered as her "spymaster". A committed Protestant, during
the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England he joined other
expatriates in exile in Switzerland and northern Italy until Mary's
death and the accession of her Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth.
Walsingham rose from relative obscurity to become one of the small
coterie who directed the Elizabethan state, overseeing foreign, domestic
and religious policy. He served as English ambassador to France in the
early 1570s, and witnessed the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. As
principal secretary, he was a supporter of exploration, colonization,
the plantation of Ireland, and the use of England's maritime power. He
worked to bring Scotland and England together. Overall, his foreign
policy demonstrated a new understanding of the role of England as a
maritime, Protestant power in an increasingly global economy. He oversaw
operations that penetrated the heart of Spanish military preparation,
gathered intelligence from across Europe, disrupted a range of plots
against Elizabeth, and secured the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Walsingham>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1622:
Dutch–Portuguese War: An outnumbered Portuguese force
repelled a Dutch attack in the Battle of Macau, the only major military
engagement that was fought between two European powers on the Chinese
mainland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Macau>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: The French Grande Armée under Napoleon
crossed the Neman River, marking the start of their invasion of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia>
1932:
A group of military and civilians engineered a bloodless coup
in Siam, ending the absolute rule of the Chakri Dynasty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_revolution_of_1932>
1981:
The Humber Bridge opened, connecting the East Riding of
Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in England, at the time the longest
single-span suspension bridge.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Bridge>
1982:
British Airways Flight 9 flew into a cloud of volcanic ash
thrown up by the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Galunggung, resulting in
the failure of all four of its engines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_9>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
dead tree edition:
(idiomatic, pejorative, humorous) Paper version of a publication that
can be found online.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dead_tree_edition>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The very pure spirit does not bother about the regard of others or human
respect, but communes inwardly with God, alone and in solitude as to all
forms, and with delightful tranquility, for the knowledge of God is
received in divine silence.
--John of the Cross
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_of_the_Cross>